A Christmas Confession
by Colourful Glitter
Summary: After Jane kills Red John, the CBI is still intact, but Jane still can't bring himself to tell Lisbon how he feels. As Christmas begins to roll around Jane can't stand the thought of spending another Christmas alone and decides to tell Lisbon how he feels by giving her the best Christmas he possibly can.
1. Walnuts and Candy Canes

**Author's Note: I really wanted to write a Christmas fanfic and I got the idea for this. It was originally supposed to be a one-shot but it snowballed into this. Like I said in the summary, RJ is gone, but the CBI is still around(because I still really miss the CBI!) and Jane hasn't gotten the guts to tell Lisbon how he feels. But he's decided Christmas will be a great time. I hope you all enjoy it!  
**

**Disclaimer: The Mentalist does not belong to me.**

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Lisbon looked down at the invitation sitting on her desk. It was red, green and white. Very festive. Unfortunately, Lisbon wasn't feeling festive. She didn't even have a tree up at home. Hell, she didn't even _have_ a tree to set up at all! Usually she went back to see Tommy and the rest of her family in Chicago, but not this year. She just wasn't up for it this year and everyone in Chicago had such conflicting schedules that she didn't see the point. She didn't want to go to this CBI Christmas Gala either. However, this she couldn't avoid. She was the head of her team and the team needed to be funded. She would never understand why rich people felt the need to get dressed up to give away money. Oh, god. Speaking of getting dressed up, she didn't have a dress either. Vacation started in three days, and the gala was to mark its start. She did not have the will to dress shop. Nothing was open now, anyway. She would have to go tomorrow…or the day after…or never. Irritably, Lisbon sighed and turned off her computer. It was dark and the team had already gone home. Maybe if she went home and relaxed, she could put herself in a better mood.

"You still here?" Jane asked, sauntering into her office as he often did.

So much for good mood. "Just leaving." Lisbon replied, flatly.

"Why so glum?" Jane stuck his hands in his pockets and walked to stand on the other side of her desk.

"I'm not glum."

"Liar."

Lisbon made a face at him before going back to packing up her things.

Jane noticed the gala invitation on her desk and quickly picked it up. Lisbon tried to grab it from him, but he held it behind himself so she couldn't reach it from behind her desk. He raised a brow at her.

"Whatever." She huffed and returned to the task at hand.

Jane glanced over the invitation. It looked almost exactly like the one he had gotten, but this one had Lisbon's name on it instead. "You're nervous about this gala, huh?"

"No."

"I detect a small lie."

"I'm not lying." Lisbon put her hands on her hips.

Jane studied her for another moment. "Hm…okay. Not nervous. Dreading. Yes. Dreading."

"Is this what you came here for? To tease me about the gala? Don't you have some Christmas shopping to do? A new house to buy? You said you were looking. Find something else to do with your time that isn't harassing me."

"But harassing you is the most entertaining thing for me to do." Jane grinned.

Lisbon huffed, putting on her jacket.

"I did actually want to ask you something." Jane told her, handing back the invitation, which she took. "Would you like to go to the gala with me?"

Lisbon stopped to look at him, surprised. Did he really just…?

"Don't look so surprised, Teresa. Who else would I really go with?"

"Are you playing me?"

"No. Of course not, Teresa!" Jane was actually offended.

Lisbon gave him a suspicious look.

"Honestly. Look. Okay. I promise no shenanigans if you go with me."

"And if I don't go with you?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"I can promise, there _will_ be shenanigans."

Lisbon frowned. "Are you threatening me to go with you?"

"No. I'm giving incentive."

"Well, your 'incentives' sound threatening."

"Well, I was not done with the incentives."

"Oh?"

"I know this great little place that's open just for the holidays and is open late that has the best roasted walnuts. They've also got candy canes and other festive foods. I will buy you as much as you like tonight and we can go back to your place and eat them." Jane smiled, pleased with his offer.

"You're bribing me with food and threatening me with shenanigans?"

"Stop wasting time. You and I both know that you really want some candy canes and roasted walnuts."

A small smile tugged at the corner of Lisbon's mouth as she grabbed her briefcase. "Fine. I'll go with you. But only because I really want some candy canes, roasted walnuts and to not get yelled at for your shenanigans."

Jane smiled brightly, clapping his hands together. "I thought you would come around. I'll go get my coat and we'll head out. We'll take my car."

"No. We're going to take _my_ car."

"I don't think so."

"Well, I do think so."

"Do you know where this place is?" Jane asked.

"No."

"Then I'll be driving your car. Do you really want me driving your car?"

Lisbon pursed her lips. "No."

"Then it looks like we're taking my car." Jane smiled as he headed over to his bullpen couch to grab his jacket and they headed out.

The little shop wasn't busy at all. Of course it was almost 10pm on a Tuesday night. Lisbon couldn't help but smile at the quaint little shop with a sign over it that read _Jolly Christmas Market_. Jane quickly parked the car and they both headed inside, Jane holding the door open for Lisbon as the bells hanging over it jingled with the doors movements. They were both hit with the scent of Christmas cooking the moment the door was opened. There were gingerbread houses, candy canes, walnuts and so many more Christmas themed treats that Lisbon was almost overwhelmed. Jane ushered her further in with his hand at her back as they browsed the Christmas treats.

"Is there something I can help you two with?"

Lisbon jumped slightly, not expecting a foreign voice.

"Hello, Lacy." Jane smiled, giving the aging woman a small wave.

"Hello, Patrick." Lacy replied happily. She had graying hair and wrinkling skin, but everything else about her was young and vibrant. She fixed something behind the counter and then went over to see them. "This must be your lovely friend, Teresa." Lacy looked Lisbon up and down before giving her a hug and Lisbon blushed slightly and gave Jane a strange look that he shrugged off. Lacy then gave Jane a hug and fixed her apron. "What can I do for you two tonight?"

"Your finest roasted walnuts and candy canes, please." Jane answered.

"You'll have to be a little bit more specific than that." Lacy winked. "All of it is the finest."

"Good point." Jane nodded. "Even Saint Teresa stole a candy cane from me the other day."

"Excuse me!" Lisbon blushed deeper, frowning at Jane. "I did not!"

"Well what do you call eating it without my permission?"

"You left it on my desk! What was I supposed to think!?"

"That I left it there for safe keeping so no one else would take it." Jane grinned.

Lisbon shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"It's okay. I forgive you, Teresa."

Lisbon smacked his chest lightly and Jane placed a hand over the spot, contorting his face in mock pain for a moment before chuckling.

"I can't go anywhere with you where I won't be teased, can I?"

Lacy chuckled at them. "It's alright, dear. I'm sure he's teasing with care. My husband loves to tease me all the time too."

"Where is Henry tonight?" Jane asked, changing the topic.

"He's closing up at the bakery with Amy and Jason. They're going to head over after to help me close."

"That's very nice." Jane commented.

"Amy? Jason?" Lisbon asked.

"My daughter and her fiancé. They're visiting for the holidays." Lacy explained.

"Oh, that sounds nice." Lisbon smiled and nodded.

"We won't keep you too long, then." Jane said. "Just stopped in to get some tasty treats."

"Right, of course. I'm sure you both want to get home as well." Lacy gestured to the store. "Get whatever you want. Special prices for state agents." She winked and headed back to the counter.

"Go ahead and pick something." Jane nudged Lisbon's shoulder with his own.

Lisbon looked down at a nearby table that supported an assortment of treats and began to pick. It wasn't long before they had two baggies filled with Christmas treats and were checking out at the cashier.

"You state agents really do have an appetite, don't you?"

"Well, it's the best, right?" Lisbon smiled, pulling her wallet out of her pocket.

"I told you it was on me." Jane said to Lisbon, opening his own wallet.

"We have _two bags _of stuff, Jane. I've got to at least pay for one of them. That's too much for me to just make you pay for."

"I offered, so it's fine, Teresa."

"It's not."

But Jane had handed Lacy his money. "Keep the change. Do you see what I deal with? She can be so difficult."

"Hey!" Lisbon blushed and frowned at him.

Lacy laughed, handing them back their baggies. "Beauty and brains always are. Henry will know. He's had to live with me all these years."

"Cheeky." Jane commented.

"Well, I have to stay hip with you kids and your fancy lingo, don't I?"

"You do a very good job." Jane assured her.

"Thank you. Always good to hear. Have a nice night, you two."

"You too." Lisbon smiled, taking one of the baggies and Jane took the other one as they left.  
"She a friend of yours?" Lisbon asked after they were back in Jane's car and she'd done up her seatbelt.

"A relatively new one." Jane nodded, starting the car.

"How did you even find out about this place?"

"She and her husband run a bakery just a few blocks away from headquarters. Since…you know. _He_ has been gone, I've been going for longer walks and I ventured in a few times and we started talking. I asked her if she had Christmas treats and she said that they leased this place out for the holiday season so they could have a whole store dedicated to Christmas things. It's her favourite holiday."

"That's sweet." Lisbon smiled, looking back down at her bag of Christmas treats.

"I thought so too." Jane agreed, pulling the car out of the small parking lot and driving to Lisbon's place.

-Mentalist-

They spent the car ride in a comfortable silence starting to nibble at the Christmas goodies.

"Sorry my place isn't much to look at." Lisbon said as she unlocked her front door and they stepped inside.

"It's fine, Teres-where's your Christmas tree?" Jane looked at her living room in disbelief.

"I told you it wasn't much to look at." Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"But you should have a tree. Even the bullpen at work has a tree."

"And that's all the decoration I needed." Lisbon threw her coat on a nearby chair. "Are we going to eat these treats or not?"

"Yes. And after we buy you a dress for the Christmas gala, we're getting you a Christmas tree."

"That's ridiculous." Lisbon shook her head. "It's only, what, five days until Christmas? It wouldn't be up long. There's no point."

"There is a point. It'll cheer you up." Jane said, taking a seat on her couch and opening up his bag of treats. "You'll feel more festive. You'll see. When it's up, you'll feel better."

"I don't even have anything to decorate it with." Lisbon sat down next to him and reached into her own bag.

"Lies. You have at least three Christmas ornaments from your childhood upstairs hidden in a dark corner of your closet. Or under your bed."

Lisbon glanced at him and continued to eat the sugar cookie she had pulled out of her bag.

"Under your bed it is."

Lisbon just grumbled, but didn't reply otherwise.

"How about some Christmas movies to make up for the lack of decorations, then." Jane suggested. "I'm sure we'll find something on TV if you don't have any in your movie cabinet."

"I don't think I've ever seen you so festive at Christmas." Lisbon said as she picked up the remote to see what she could find on TV.

"Things have changed."

"Well, I'm glad to see that you're happy." Lisbon smiled at him.

"Thank you. Oh-the Nutcracker! Let's watch that."

"You want to watch The Nutcracker?" Lisbon smirked.

"It's a classic. Of course I do."

"Fine then." Lisbon laughed. "How about something to drink with our treats? Some wine since everything has to be a classic?"

"Sounds like a wonderful idea, thank you." Jane nodded and Lisbon got up to find some wine.

-Mentalist-

After The Nutcracker, they found another movie and half way through that one, Lisbon began to doze off. Jane himself was feeling sleepy by the end of the movie and he glanced down at Lisbon, whose head had fallen to his shoulder in her sleep. He smiled slightly and debated what he should do. Should he wake her up or not? He decided against waking her up and decided to tuck her into bed, but first he had to get her to her room. She adjusted them so that he could slide one arm under her legs and the other behind her back, picking her up gently. He carried her up the stairs and managed to tuck her in without her waking up. She stirred for a moment as he tucked the blankets around her, but he shushed her back to sleep, tucking some hair behind her ear. When he was satisfied that she was comfortable, he got up and went over to the guest room.

Yes, everything was changing now that Red John was out of the picture. All the things he had never said were going to be said, especially all the things he had wanted to say to Lisbon. But not all at once, because he knew it would just overwhelm and scare her. He was going to make sure she had a great Christmas and he was going to make sure to leave nothing unsaid.

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**Author's NOte: So that's chapter one! Please review and let me know what you think! **


	2. Icicles and Angels

**Author's Note: I'm so glad to hear that you all liked the first chapter so much! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews as well as the favourites and follows! I'm excited to hear what you all think of this second chapter!  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

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Lisbon stirred, blinking against the morning sunlight. She was in her room. When did she get there? Did she dream everything that happened? Why would she dream about watching movies with Jane? She got up and looked down at herself, noticing that she was in the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday. She decided to get something to eat before getting ready for work. Speaking of work, Lisbon glanced at her clock and almost choked on air. Nine!? No. No! It _couldn't_ be nine! Why hadn't her alarm gone off!? Lisbon hurried downstairs to start a cup of coffee brewing, but skittered to a halt at the sight of the other person in her kitchen.

"Jane?"

"Morning, Teresa." Jane looked at her over his shoulder from his place at the stove. "Sleep well? It's eggs for breakfast."

"What the hell!? I'm late for work! Why didn't you wake me up!?"

Jane shrugged. "You looked like you were having a good sleep. Besides, it's not like anything is going to be happening at work."

"That's no excuse to show up late." Lisbon snapped.

"Well, if you want to have a quick shower before breakfast, you've got a few minutes before I'm done cooking."

Lisbon huffed and then hurried back upstairs to shower and change.

-Mentalist-

She got a few odd looks from the team when she walked in late with Jane on her heels, but she ignored it as best she could and made a bee-line for her office. At least everyone would leave her alone. It's not like anything had happened between the two of them. They watched movies and ate treats then fell asleep. That was all. The teams amused looks were completely unwarranted. And Jane's amused smirk at her reaction was very annoying. At least she had her paperwork to hide behind. Everyone would drop the subject by lunch.

-Mentalist-

Everyone left a little bit earlier because it was almost vacation and it's not like much was happening at work. Everything was filed and completed, so what else was there to do? But Lisbon would always find something else to do that would keep her there.

"I hope you're ready to go shopping." Jane stepped through her office door, dressed to leave.

"Excuse me?" Lisbon looked up at him from her computer screen.

"You heard me."

"Why would you think we're going shopping?"

"Because you need a dress, Teresa. For the gala. Remember? And then we're going to get you a tree."

"I never agreed to that."

"You didn't _disagree_, either." Jane picked up her jacket and held it out so she could put it on.

"I'm not going dress shopping with you." Lisbon scoffed.

"Why not? I have nice taste."

"Whether you do or don't is not the point. I'm not-"

"So, you admit that I _do _have good taste."

Lisbon rolled her eyes, but didn't move from her seat.

"Don't make me stand here all night arguing with you, Teresa."

"You're welcome to stop insisting at any time."

Jane reached out and quickly turned off her monitor.

"I was working on that!" Lisbon glared at him.

"It'll still be there when you turn the monitor back on so that you can save it and we can get going."

"I hate you, Jane. I hope you know that." Lisbon turned on her monitor again and then saved her work before shutting the computer down.

"Oh, you don't mean that." Jane smiled, helping her into her jacket.

"I really do mean it." Lisbon picked up her bag.

Jane let her take her car this time because he knew it would make her feel better. He hummed Christmas tunes the whole way to the mall as Lisbon drove.

Lisbon locked the car after they both got out and then they headed for the mall.

"So, what colour did you want?" Jane inquired as they walked down the mall hallway, looking for a dress store.

"I don't know. As long as it fits and I can breathe. That's the colour I want."

Jane sighed and shook his head. "How about green? It's festive and it looks lovely on you."

Lisbon blushed slightly and looked away. "Fine." She mumbled. "Whatever gets me home faster."

"Oh, don't pretend like you don't want to be here. We both know you're going to have fun." Jane smiled. "Ah, there's a shop!" He took Lisbon's hand and steered her in the direction of the shop he saw.

"Can I help you with something?" One of the shop employees asked as they entered the store.

"Yes, actually." Jane replied before Lisbon could even open her mouth. "My partner here needs a green dress for our company Christmas gala."

Lisbon shot him a glare. Of all the times to address her as his 'partner', he chooses _now_?

The employee smiled. "Well, that sounds fancy. Long dress, then?"

Jane looked over at Lisbon. "It's up to you."

"Whatever gets me home faster."

Jane shook his head and then looked back at the shop employee. "Don't mind her. She's just being grouchy to keep up her cop persona. Knee length. She procrastinated and we don't have much time to have it hemmed or anything."

The employee led them over to a dress display and they got to work picking out a dress for Lisbon.

-Mentalist-

"See? It was so bad." Jane beamed as they left the dress shop.

"Shut up." Lisbon said.

"Oh, don't think that I missed that little smile on your face. Your cheeks are pink, too. You had fun. Admit it. You actually had fun."

"Never."

"Fine, but I know the truth, Teresa. And so do you. Now that that's out of the way. We can get you a tree."

"Are you really still going to insist?" Lisbon groaned.

"Of course! We won't get a huge tree, but we will get a decently sized tree."

"I am not cleaning up after a pine tree."

"Then we'll get you a fake tree. At least it's a tree. We're at the mall. Why not?"

Lisbon carried her new dress as they made their way into a department store that sold fake Christmas trees.

"This one." Lisbon said, pointing to a little tree.

"No. That's way too tiny!" Jane shook his head.

"Well, we're certainly _not_ getting _that_ one!" Lisbon gestured to the tree that Jane was standing near that was at least a foot taller than him.

"Okay, I admit, it's quite big." Jane conceded. "That one, then." He pointed at one that was about his height a few feet away from them.

"Too big." Lisbon dismissed it.

"What?" Jane gasped. "No it's not! It's perfect!"

"I'm not carrying that _and_ a dress to my car."

"I'll be the one carrying it, thank you very much."

"Yeah right." Lisbon scoffed.

"I will." Jane repeated. "Wait here."

"Where are you going?" Lisbon called as Jane walked off.

"I'll be right back." Jane said over his shoulder.

-Mentalist-

Jane returned a few minutes later with a big box that he was having a bit of trouble carrying.

"You went and got one of the trees." Lisbon stated more than asked.

"Yes. Since you weren't being very cooperative."

Lisbon rolled her eyes. "Let's go then." They headed for the cashier, but something caught Jane's eye.

"Oh, Teresa. We need lights for the tree."

Lisbon stopped a few steps ahead and turned to look at him.

"Get the coloured ones, please?" He smiled.

Lisbon sighed and grabbed a box of coloured Christmas tree lights.

"And that box of icicle ornaments?"

Lisbon glared at him over her shoulder.

"I'll pay for them." Jane shrugged. "But I think they'll look really nice on our tree. Please?"

Lisbon sighed and grabbed a box of the icicle ornaments as well before they headed for the check out again.

-Mentalist-

"So, where do you think will be the best spot for our tree?" Jane asked as Lisbon walked back into the living room.

"I don't know, Jane." Lisbon flopped on the couch. "You tell me."

"Come on, Teresa. We have to do this _together_." Jane opened the tree box. "I can't decorate your home by myself. That's hardly fair."

Lisbon got up and helped him get the tree out of the box. "Over there, in the corner by the window?" Lisbon pointed. "There's an outlet there, too."

"Perfect." Jane agreed and they got the tree arranged. "Now for the lights." Jane went back and got the string of lights Lisbon had grabbed. "Darn. We should have got some tinsel too."

"I'm _not_ going back out for tinsel." Lisbon told him.

"No, no." Jane shook his head. "I agree. The tinsel isn't _that_ important."

They both set to work wrapping the lights around the Christmas tree, stepping back to admire their work when they were finished.

"It's a good start." Jane said. "Next is the icicle ornaments." He went and opened the box, handing a few to Lisbon for her to put on the tree and taking some for himself. Once that was done, they stood back again.

Lisbon wrinkled her nose. "It looks kind of pathetic to me."

"What do you mean? I think it looks nice." Jane tilted his head. "A little plain, but nice."

"No, it's pathetic." Lisbon assured him.

"No, it's not. Just because it doesn't have a million different ornaments on it, doesn't mean it's pathetic." Jane crossed his arms. "Go get your Christmas ornaments."

"What?"

"You heard me. Go get those ornaments you have stashed up in your room. They'll get some use this year."

"No."

"If you don't go get them, I'll go looking for them."

"You wouldn't."

"You want to bet on that?" Jane raised a brow at her.

Lisbon turned and left to get her Christmas ornaments. She returned and gently placed two boxes on the floor near the Christmas tree. She took the top one off and placed it over to the side then opened the bottom one.

"What's in the other one?" Jane inquired.

"The tree topper." Lisbon said, pulling out one of the few ornaments that was in the box she'd opened. It was a little nurse in uniform.

"That one is very nice." Jane commented as he reached in to pick up another one.

Lisbon gently put it on the tree. "Thank you."

Jane pulled out another ornament from the box and smiled at it. It was a little baby wrapped in pink blankets with a ribbon tied around it that said _Teresa_. Very carefully he put the ornament on the tree, then looked over at Lisbon who still hadn't taken another ornament out of the box. She was still looking at the first ornament with a distant glaze over her eyes.

"Hey." He said softly, reaching out to rub her back. "You okay?"

Lisbon blinked a few times, returning to the present. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"If you want to stop, Teresa, we can." Jane told her. "I just thought it would be nice if you got to use your ornaments. But if it's too much-"

"No, I'm fine." Lisbon insisted.

"Okay." Jane nodded. "We can stop whenever you want." He went back to putting the rest of the ornaments on the tree, even though there were only two more left. Jane picked up the glass orb and looked at the picture inside. It looked like a Christmas family photo. Lisbon looked about twelve and was smiling happily standing between her parents, with her younger brothers situated in front of them. It donned on Jane that this was probably their last family photo and he understood completely why Lisbon had kept this. The last ornament Lisbon put on the tree was a little glittery snowman that Jane was sure carried a deep meaning to Lisbon.

"Do you want to put on the tree topper now? Or do you want to stop?" Jane glanced down at the unopened box.

"Might as well do it now." Lisbon breathed, reaching down to open the box.

Jane watched as she carefully opened it and pulled out the object inside. He had never seen a prettier tree topper before. It was an angel dressed completely in white with a little gold halo and wings with actual white feathers on them. The angel's hair was curly and blond and the topper looked very expensive. Maybe a family heirloom? "Wow." Jane choked out. "That is one very nice tree topper."

Lisbon looked at him and smiled slightly. "Thanks. It's been around a long time. I'm pretty sure it's even older than me."

"It's very nice. The best one I've ever seen."

"Do you want to put it on the tree?"

"I couldn't." Jane shook his head. "That's your right."

Lisbon stood on her tip-toes to make sure she could see what she was doing and Jane put an arm around her waist to make sure she wouldn't lose her balance. She fixed the bottom of the angel's dress and then returned to standing flat-footed, Jane unwrapping his arm from her waist.

Jane ushered her to stand back with him so they could admire the tree they'd decorated.

"What's the verdict now?" Jane looked over at her smiling. "Not pathetic anymore, huh?"

Lisbon smiled, looking back at the tree. "No. It's very nice." She agreed.

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**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I felt a sweet moment was in order. Don't worry, there will be more to come! Let me know what you thought in a review! :3 Merry Christmas Eve and Happy Holidays everyone!  
**


	3. An Addition to the Tree

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I was going to post this chapter earlier, but fanfiction wouldn't let me sign in. Something about a server connection problem. There's been a lot of power outages where I am because of weather, so I'm lucky to have power at all actually. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but it might have. Anyway. This chapter is way shorter than it was supposed to be. I was going to put them going to the gala in this chapter as well, but after writing it, it just didn't feel right to put them both in this chapter. BUT, I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist. If I did, this wouldn't be fanfiction. *sigh***

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"Are you excited for the gala tomorrow, now that you have a dress?" Jane asked as Lisbon drank her morning coffee and drove them both to work.

Lisbon groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, come on, Teresa." Jane smiled. "You know you're a _little_ excited. You even have a date and everything."

They stopped at a stop light and Lisbon groaned loudly, sending him a smirk.

"You could have a lot worse dates than me." Jane defended even though he knew she was only teasing.

"Debatable." Lisbon replied as the light turned green.

-Mentalist-

"Have any of you seen Jane?" Lisbon asked as she walked into the bullpen. It was almost the end of the day and she had hardly even seen him, which was strange since he'd seemed so keen in following her around the last few days.

"Not since this afternoon." Van Pelt shook her head from behind the computer. "Why?"

"No reason. Just weird he hasn't been around so much today. You know how it is. When it gets too peaceful around here, it means he's causing trouble somewhere else." Lisbon joked.

Van Pelt chuckled. "Let's hope not."

"Agreed." Lisbon nodded and then headed back to her office.

It was at least another hour and the team had already said their goodnights as they headed home before Jane showed up again.

"Good evening." He strolled into her office, hands in his pockets.

Lisbon looked up at him. "Hello. Where did you disappear to today? I went to find you in the attic and you weren't there."

Jane shrugged. "It's not so much my style anymore. I mean, I have to keep my stuff there because I have nowhere else to put it, but I'm not there as much."

"I've noticed. Usually you're in the bullpen or my office, but you weren't there either."

"I had things to do." Jane said passively.

"Please tell me those 'things' didn't have anything to do with causing trouble."

"Of course not, Teresa! Not this close to the holidays!"

"I'm not sure that really makes me feel better." Lisbon gave him a look.

"Oh, you'll cheer up." Jane told her. "But…I did have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Well…I don't know if you'll want to or not…"

He seemed nervous, which was not something Lisbon was used to seeing. "What is it?" She repeated.

"I was wondering if you'd let me add an ornament to the tree."

Lisbon raised a brow at him. He was nervous over a Christmas tree ornament? "What _kind_ of Christmas tree ornament?"

"Nothing bad!" Jane assured her, picking up on her suspicious tone. "Just…I'll show you it."

Lisbon looked at him for a moment before replying. "Okay." She agreed, saving her work and shutting down her computer. She followed him out of her office and up the stairs to the attic, which was now a little cluttered with Jane's things. Everything he had in his house at Malibu had to be moved out once he'd sold it after Red John was gone. Lisbon had found it kind of sad how little was left in that big house, that it could all fit in one attic and there was still quite a bit of room.

Jane pulled out a chair for her and gestured for her to sit down. She did as he went over to open a drawer in the old desk that sat under the window. "I found this earlier." Jane explained as he pulled out a little green box. "I was going through some stuff and I was going to put it on the bullpen tree, but I felt that was a little too public for my liking." He walked over and handed her the box.

Lisbon looked at him as she took it gently. "Well the ones you did put on the bullpen tree are very nice." She smiled.

"Thank you." Jane smiled back.

Lisbon looked back at the box in her hands. Gently, she pulled off the lid and pulled the ornament out by the golden string attached to it. It was a photo in a clear plastic case.

"I actually forgot about it." Jane began to babble, which he wasn't accustom to doing. "But I saw it again today and it reminded me of the one you have and I thought…we could put it on the tree."

"Yeah." Lisbon nodded. "Of course we can." She looked back down at the picture of Jane, Angela and Charlotte. "This is your first family Christmas?"

Jane nodded.

"It's a beautiful picture." Lisbon told him sincerely. She carefully placed the ornament back in the box and placed the lid back on.

"Thank you." Jane took the box back from her when she offered it. "Yours was lovely, too."

"I look stupid in mine." Lisbon blushed.

"Nonsense. You looked adorable."

Lisbon's blush deepened. "Shall we go, then?" She asked, changing the subject a bit. "Put that on the tree?"

"Yes." Jane said. "That sounds nice."

* * *

**Author's Note: So, next chapter is the gala. Hopefully I'll have that up quickly. Sorry again for the delay. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas(or Kwanzaa or whatever it is that you celebrate. It's all good!) See you all at the next chapter! Please leave a review. :3**


	4. The Gala

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Sorry this one took a little bit longer too. But I hope you all enjoy it. I know Christmas has passed now, but oh well. We can continue to be in a Christmas-y mindset for a bit longer, can't we?  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

* * *

Lisbon allowed herself to sleep in the next day. She didn't have work and she was going to need all the energy she could muster for the gala that night. When she got up and went to make herself her morning coffee, she noticed a note stuck to a freshly brewed cup. She tore the note off and read it:

_Dear Teresa,_

_I would have loved to stay until you woke up, but I have to get ready for the gala and I know you do as well. I decided I wouldn't get in your way, but I look forward to seeing you later. I'll pick you up at six._

_Love,_

_Patrick Jane_

Lisbon rolled her eyes. If he was preparing some trick, she was going to punch him. She put the note aside and had her coffee. It was going to be a short day, but a _long_ night.

-Mentalist-

Lisbon smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in her dress as she gave herself one last look in the mirror. Jane had picked a really nice dress. It was dark green with thick straps and a moderate V-neck. It flowed down and ended just above her knees with a thin black belt to show off her waist. She had curled her hair and done her makeup. Lisbon grabbed a pair of black heels and headed downstairs when she heard a knock at her door. She quickly put on her jack and grabbed her purse before stepping out the door.

"Hey." Lisbon smiled at him as she shut the door behind herself.

"Someone is in a rush." Jane teased, standing back a bit to give Lisbon a little bit of space as she locked the door.

"I just want this gala to be over." Lisbon returned her house key to her purse.

"Lighten up and maybe you'll have some fun." Jane offered his arm.

"Fun." Lisbon huffed, accepting his offered arm. "Not in a room full of rich people who are judging me all night."

They descended the steps and made their way to Jane's car that was parked at the curb.

"Well, they won't say anything bad, I'm sure because you look lovely."

Lisbon blushed and glanced at the ground. "Thanks." She muttered.

"You're welcome." Jane grinned, opening the door of his car for her and helping her into the front passenger seat.

"I hear the food is going to be great this year." Jane said cheerily as he turned the car on.

"People say that every year." Lisbon replied.

"Yes, but this year I think it'll be _especially _true."

Lisbon looked at him worriedly. "_Jane_. What did you _do_?"

"Nothing bad." Jane said. "Why must everything I do be wrong to you?"

"Because it usually is." Lisbon defended. "What did you do this time?"

"All I did was help the planning committee find a new caterer. Honestly, Teresa."

Lisbon gave him a sceptical look.

"Well I was going to keep it a surprise, but if you want to be that way," Jane rolled his eyes. "Lacy's bakery is the caterer for the gala."

"Really? I thought it was going to be the same place as always."

"That was the plan. But apparently there was some mix up they found out about yesterday and needed to find someone else. Luckily for the committee, I was eavesdropping and offered to help."

"Who knew your criminal and nosy nature would work out for someone?" Lisbon teased.

"Exactly!" Jane nodded. "That's the spirit. There's the Teresa I know."

"Shush."

-Mentalist-

There were plenty of people already at the gala when they arrived. Jane parked the car and offered Lisbon his arm as they showed their invitations and were let inside.

"They really went all out with the decorations this year." Lisbon commented.

"Looks like they were going for some kind of winter wonderland theme." Jane nodded, looking at the glittery ribbons and Christmas bulbs. There was a dance floor off to the left and tables to eat at to the right. At the other end off the big gala room was a stage and against the far right wall was a table of food. There was Christmas music playing and chatting all through the room.

"Don't cause any trouble." Lisbon told him.

"Wouldn't dream of it. We have a deal, remember? You came as my date, so I'll be on my best behaviour." Jane smiled at her, but she still wasn't reassured. "So, who is our sucker?"

"This is what I was talking about. You can't just say stuff like that, Jane." Lisbon looked at him.

"It's not like I said it to them. They can't be offended if they don't hear it."

"We haven't even been here five minutes and-"

"Excuse me?" Someone interrupted Lisbon before she could give Jane an earful and they both turned to see who it was. "Teresa Lisbon?"

"Yes." Lisbon gave the brightest smile she could force to the man that had approached them. "Mr. Thorson."

"Jonathan, please." He smiled. He must have been maybe a year or two younger than Jane.

"Jonathan." Lisbon nodded and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Jane said as he also shook the man's hand. "So, you're sponsoring us this year."

"I am." Jonathan nodded. "I hear your team is the best. And who doesn't want to sponsor the best team?"

"Thank you, bu-"

"It's hard to argue with that logic." Jane cut Lisbon off before she said something too modest and she gave him a look.

"Jonathan!" Someone from the crowd called.

"It seems I'm needed somewhere else." Jonathan said. "But I'm glad I got to meet you both. I will see you around."

"Of course." Lisbon nodded.

"Very nice to meet you." Jane said as Jonathan walked away. He didn't miss the appreciative glance Jonathan gave Lisbon over his shoulder as he walked away. Lisbon, however, didn't notice because she was already trying to see if she could spot the rest of her team. "How about some food?" Jane suggested as he placed his arm over Lisbon's shoulder's. She didn't even have time to protest, he was already ushering her toward the table.

"We need to find the others." Lisbon said.

"Well, if you wait by the food table long enough you'll find Rigsby." Jane replied. "And if you find Rigsby, you find Van Pelt. And Cho…well. A guy's gotta eat, right?"

Lisbon rolled her eyes and picked up a cookie from the dessert table. She couldn't help the smile that curled her lips. "You can tell Lacy made these." It was a gingerbread cookie with little gummies and decorative frosting.

"That's all Lacy." Jane agreed.

Lisbon took a bite and after chewing for a moment she nodded, sighing in satisfaction.

"Oh, they're _that_ good." Jane grinned, plucking what was left of the cookie out of Lisbon's hand.

"Hey!" She objected and reached for the cookie, but Jane held it out of her reach. "That's my cookie!"

"There are others."

Lisbon hopped a little to try and reach the cookie, but it didn't work. Damn those heels!

"You two really are quite the pair, aren't you?" A voice chuckled from behind them.

Lisbon whirled around to face the owner of the voice, but lost her balance and fell into Jane who wrapped his arm around her in order to keep her upright.

"Lacy. Hi." Lisbon said, getting her balance again and shooing away Jane's arm.

Lacy was still chuckling. "Hello there."

"You guys are dressed up." Jane said, shoving what was left of the gingerbread cookie in his mouth and smiled at Lisbon as he chewed.

She had meant to frown at him, but it looked more like a pout.

"I offered them an extra twenty percent off if they let us use the dance floor." Lacy smiled brightly, proud of herself.

"She has no business sense sometimes." The man standing next to her in a nice suit with a mustache shook his head, but was smiling.

"Be quiet, you." Lacy teased. "It's not all about money."

"No, of course not." The man joked.

"This is my husband, Henry." Lacy explained, noticing Lisbon's confused expression.

"Oh." Lisbon smiled genuinely. "Nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise." Henry smiled and held out his hand and Lisbon shook it. "I've heard a lot about you."

Lisbon sent Jane a questioning look, but he shrugged it off.

"We'll leave you two to whatever business you have." Lacy said. "Maybe we'll bump into you on the dance floor. It was lovely seeing you again, Teresa."

"It was nice to see you both." Lisbon agreed.

"Don't hurt yourselves out there." Jane teased as they headed toward the dance floor.

"Never!" Lacy and Henry called over their shoulders.

Jane laughed and picked up a Christmas tree cupcake.

"They're very lively." Lisbon picked up a candy cane.

"That's what makes them so much fun."

They both fell into silence for a few moments, watching everyone at the party.

"Jane?" Lisbon asked tentatively.

"Hm?" Jane looked at her.

"I've been meaning to ask…maybe this isn't the time but…why did you stay?"

"What do you mean?"

"With the CBI." Lisbon elaborated. "With the team."

Jane looked at her for a moment, then opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted.

"Jane! Boss!" Van Pelt called as she and Rigsby approached them.

"Hey." Lisbon smiled, pretending that she and Jane hadn't just almost had a serious moment.

"Nice to see you guys, finally." Jane greeted, pretending the same.

They managed to find Cho wandering around and being his usual stoic self. After they had some dinner, the team talked more with Jonathan before Van Pelt and Rigsby made the excuse that they had to leave and get back to Ben. Not too long after, Cho managed to slip away, leaving Lisbon and Jane with Jonathan.

Originally, Jane hadn't minded Jonathan so much. But as he spent more time with the other man, he began to like him less and less. Really, Jonathan didn't seem like a bad guy, but Jane resented the way the man looked at Lisbon. However, Lisbon was much too modest to see it. Jane wondered if Jonathan had picked their CBI team just because they had a good case closed record.

"How about a dance, Teresa?" Jane asked when he started to notice Lisbon growing uncomfortable with their current company. "I did promise you one."

"Yes, that sounds nice." Lisbon nodded and then smiled at Jonathan. "Excuse us."

"Of course." Their sponsor nodded. "Have fun." But he looked a little peeved at Jane.

"Thank you." Jane smiled back, taking Lisbon's hand and leading her to the dance floor. They found a spot and held each other close as they began to sway to the soft Christmas music.

"Thanks." Lisbon whispered, her cheek resting on his shoulder. "For getting me out of there. I know you didn't promise me a dance."

"No problem." Jane whispered back. "I'd dance with you any time."

Lisbon smiled and closed her eyes.

"No falling asleep on me, Teresa."

"I'm not."

"Maybe we should head out after this." Jane suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea." Lisbon lifted her head off his shoulder. "I can get all this stuff off my face."

"Wearing makeup isn't very pleasant." Jane agreed.

"And you'd know?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"I _did_ do stage work, Teresa. I _do_ know."

"Touché." Lisbon nodded.

After the song ended, they slipped out of the gala and found Jane's car in the parking lot to head home.

"So, Christmas Eve is tomorrow night." Jane said as he pulled out of the parking lot.

"Yeah."

"What are you up to?"

Lisbon sent him a questioning look before answering. "I was going to go to mass."

"Would you like some company?" Jane asked.

"You don't even believe."

"No." Jane admitted. "But, I would like to go. If you'll let me join you. I promise to be good again. Look how good I was tonight. We could even go for a carriage ride before."

"If you really want to…" Lisbon was a little shocked that he wanted to join her.

"Great." Jane smiled at her. "It'll be fun."

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**Author's Note: That's it for now! I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought. :3  
**


	5. Christmas Eve

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update. For some reason this took me a little longer to write. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to happen, but I figured it out. Thank you all for your great reviews and favourites and follows!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist.**

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Lisbon felt very relieved the next morning when she woke up. The gala was over and nothing had gone wrong. There was no work for her to worry about. She could take an extended shower and just lie on the couch until mass.

"You up y-?"

"Ah!" Lisbon squeaked as Jane poked his head into her room. "Jane! Don't do that! You scared the hell out of me!"

Jane raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Just wanted to know if you were up and ready to eat. Eggs or pancakes? Either way, I have to go shopping for ingredients. You really should have better food h-"

"Are you really criticizing my eating habits? You walk into my room-"

"Okay." Jane shrugged. "So, you're up. Eggs or pancakes? I'll go shopping while you take a shower."

Lisbon pursed her lips.

"You can't honestly tell me that you don't want breakfast. Or that you want to cook."

"Pancakes." Lisbon answered. "Please."

"Very well, then." Jane nodded. "I'll be back soon." He shut the door to her room and left.

Lisbon sighed heavily and then got out of bed to take a shower and change.

When she was done taking a shower she headed downstairs into the kitchen where Jane was unloading his groceries.

"Blueberries?" Lisbon asked, pulling the item out of one of the bag.

"_Blueberry_ pancakes." Jane grinned at her.

"You really like your blueberries." Lisbon teased.

"What can I say? They're good." Jane smiled at her.

Lisbon just smiled and shook her head, turning the stove on to help get breakfast made.

"So, what time is mass tonight?" Jane asked as they ate their pancakes at the kitchen table.

"Starts at 6." Lisbon answered.

"Should I wear something fancy?"

Lisbon shrugged. "If you want. You don't need a tux or anything, but something nice will do fine."

"We should really go do something before we go to mass." Jane told her.

"Like what?"

"Hmm..." Jane thought. "Maybe a carriage ride. I saw some happening downtown."

Lisbon blushed slightly. "Those are kind of pricey, aren't they?"

Jane shrugged. "I think it would be worth it. It would be fun."

"Sure. If you want." Lisbon nodded.

"You seem hesitant."

"No. It's just...I'm not used to you being so festive and stuff."

"Well, you'll have to get used to it, Teresa." Jane grinned. "You'll be seeing more of it in the coming years."

The corners of Lisbon's lips curled upward slightly at his words. "Why did you suddenly start calling me Teresa instead of Lisbon, anyway?"

"Why not call you Teresa? That's you're name. It's a very nice name."

Lisbon glanced away, shyly. "Yeah, but you started using it all the time...right after you asked me to go with you to the gala."

"So?"

"So, why?"

"Can't a man enjoy being a little bit informal with his friend over the holidays? You can call me Patrick, you know. I'm not stopping you. In fact, I would prefer it, actually."

"What has gotten into you this Christmas?" Lisbon teased.

"The holiday spirit, of course!"

"Yeah, sure. That's it." Lisbon laughed.

-Mentalist-

"You almost ready?" Jane called from the living room later that afternoon. "Much longer and the carriage ride will make us late for mass."

"I'm ready. Jeez, Ja-"

"Patrick." He corrected her, staring a bit at her as she entered the living room. Her hair was long and loose like it had been the night before, but he'd never seen her in a pencil skirt before. This one was black, paired with a dark green silk blouse.

"_Patrick_." She repeated. "Who knew you were such a nag-y person?" She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, I learned from the best, Teresa." Jane managed to jokingly retort without missing a beat as he forced his brain to start working properly again.

"You taught yourself, then?" Lisbon smirked.

"Oh, haha. So funny, Teresa." Jane said sarcastically as he joined her at the door and they put their shoes on. Well, Lisbon had some boots. Black, knee-high, heeled boots to be more specific.

Jane gave a small whistle. "Where'd those things come from? New?"

"No." Lisbon shrugged, trying not to look so timid. "I got them last year. They were on sale and they were pretty comfortable."

"They're very nice." Jane smiled brightly at her, seeing through her nonchalance. He could see that she had splurged on them and that they made her feel-at the very least-feminine. Comfortable or not.

"Thank you." She nodded.

"No problem. And I have one more thing for you."

"What is it?" Lisbon looked up at him.

He plopped the plush Santa hat on her head. He'd slipped out while Lisbon was getting ready upstairs to get it "That should keep you warm."

Lisbon ran her fingers over the faux fur that rimmed the bottom of the hat. "What about you?"

Jane opened his mouth to say something witty, but realised he had no comeback to that. Why hadn't he bought one for himself? He'd just thought a Santa hat would cheer her up. It hadn't even occurred to him to buy an extra one for himself as well.

"Are yu speechless?" Lisbon teased. "Wow. Wish I knew how to make that happen more often."

"Shush. Now hurry up or we won't be able to do the carriage ride." Jane ushered her out the door.

Lisbon locked the door and followed Jane to his car, getting in when he opened the passenger door for her.

"There's one of the carriages." Lisbon pointed as they passed one of the hoarse drawn carriages on the road.

"Oh, look who's excited." Jane chuckled as he found a parking spot.

"Shut up." Lisbon retorted.

"It's perfectly okay to be excited, Teresa. When was the last time you got to do this kind of thing?" Jane turned and looked at the man taking the money for the carriage rides. "One ride for two." He paid and they waited for the next carriage. It only took a few minutes before one pulled up and let the previous passengers off.

Jane offered his hand to Lisbon and helped her into the carriage and she blushed at the gesture. She was still going to blame it on the slightly nippy weather. They both took a moment to get comfortable in their seats before they told the driver know they were ready and he urged the horses forward slowly.

Jane leaned back, resting his arm on the back of Lisbon's seat.

"Maybe we should have picked up some more treats from Lacy today so we could have something nice to eat after mass." Lisbon thought allowed.

Jane looked at her. "We really should have. Darn. I guess we'll have to find something else to eat then. Maybe we'll get lucky and find an open grocery store on the way to mass. Stop in for a second and grab something."

"That would be nice." Lisbon nodded. The carriage hit a small bump and sent Lisbon into Jane's side with a surprised squeak.

Also surprised, Jane wrapped his arms around her to make sure she didn't fall anywhere else. He laughed. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Lisbon's cheeks reddened as she made herself comfortable, leaning into Jane's side still. For support of course. In case she might fall over again.

"Sorry about that." The carriage driver called back to them. "You both okay?"

"Yeah." Jane and Lisbon chorused together.

They lapsed into silence for a little while, leaning on each other as they watched cars, people and lights go by.

"The decorations are really nice." Jane commented softly.

"They are." Lisbon agreed. "You never got to appreciate them when you're driving."

"I told you would have fun." Jane smiled.

Lisbon hit his chest lightly.

Jane caught her hand and held it, feeling that it was cold because of the current outside temperature. She didn't fight to make him let go. She just let him hold her hand and they fell back in to a comfortable silence until the ride was over.

Jane gave her his hand to help her out of the carriage at the end of the ride and she smiled, taking his hand gratefully. They made their way back to his car.  
"Just enough time to make it to mass." Jane told her as he looked at the clock.

"You better not make us late for that Lisbon joked.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Teresa." Jane smiled at her as he turned on the car and pulled out of the parking spot.

-Mentalist-

They never got to stop off at a grocery store, but they made it in time to get a decent seat for the Christmas Eve mass.

"So, we're going to be singing?" Jane asked once they were seated.

"Yes."

"Oh, I get to hear you sing." Jane grinned.

"You did not come just to make fun of my singing." Lisbon crossed her arms.

"No, no. Of course not." Jane shook his head. "Hearing you sing is a bonus. I'm sure you have a lovely singing voice."

Lisbon rolled her eyes.

"Oh don't pout, Teresa." Jane put his arm over her shoulders and let her lean more into his side. He brought his lips close to her ear and whispered, "I didn't want you have to feel alone on Christmas. There's no one else that I would rather spend Christmas with than you. I wanted to make this special for you because you're the best partner I could have ever asked for." The intense red hue that Lisbon's cheeks turned gave Jane great satisfaction. She turned her head slightly to look at him and he smiled, leaning over to kiss her cheek and his lips lingered there for a moment. Someone behind them cleared there throat, breaking Jane and Lisbon out of their spell.

Mass went well and Lisbon was very happy by the end of it.

"What are we going to have when we get back?" Jane asked, looking over at Lisbon as he drove them back to her place. "We never got to stop at a grocery store."

Lisbon sighed. "We had some blueberries left over from breakfast. We could have those."

"That's true." Jane nodded, glancing over at Lisbon. "Should we watch some more Christmas movies?"

"If you want." Lisbon smiled back at him.

"I would like that very much."

-Mentalist-

"Hm. It looked like a lot more when they were in the container." Lisbon said as she poured the blueberries into a bowl. They had both changed into their pyjamas and were going to watch Christmas movies like they had agreed.

Jane looked at them over her shoulder and laughed. "Oh well. They'll do." He took one from the bowl and popped it in his mouth. "They're still tasty."

"Okay." Lisbon shrugged as she followed him into the living room. The only light came from the lit Christmas tree in the corner.

They both sat down on the couch, Lisbon grabbing the remote after she put the blueberries on the coffee table. After ten minutes of looking, they still couldn't find anything good on TV. With a frustrated huff, Lisbon turned off the TV and put the remote to the side.

"That's disappointing." Jane said, reaching for another blueberry.

"Tell me about it."

"Maybe it's a sign that we should go to bed."

"You that tired?" Lisbon raised a brow.

"Not really, but tomorrow is Christmas. You know, Santa can't do his job if we're awake."

Lisbon just shook her head, smiling slightly.

"It's true." Jane told her.

"Then I guess we'll go to bed. If just to make you feel better that you're helping Santa do his job."

"It would." Jane said.

They picked up their things and put them in the sink before heading upstairs. They stopped in the hallway between Lisbon's room and the guest room.

"Merry Christmas, Teresa."

Lisbon looked up at him and gave him a small smile. She stepped forward and gave him a hug, which he returned fiercely. "Merry Christmas, Patrick."

They stood embracing for a few minutes, neither knew how long. Neither wanting to let go.

"Thank you." Lisbon whispered softly. They pulled apart just enough to look at each other. "It was special. Thank you."

Jane could hear the hitch of breath in her throat. "You're welcome. Anything for you, Teresa. Are you alright?"

Lisbon nodded quickly, trying to step away quickly, but Jane wouldn't let here.

"Teresa. What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Lisbon shook her head, wiping at her wet cheeks.

"It's not nothing. Here." He pulled her hands away from her face and rubbed his thumb gently over her cheek. "What's got you so upset suddenly?"

"I'm not upset."

"You're crying."

Lisbon smiled at him. "I'm not sad. I'm just...It's been a while since I've had a really happy Christmas where I-yeah."

"Where you what?"

"Nothing."

"It's _not nothing_." Jane insisted. "You can tell me."

Lisbon hesitated, biting her lower lip. "It's been a while since I..." She hung her head and mumbled, "since I felt special."

Jane sighed and pulled her into another tight hug. "You are special." He told her. "You're special to lots of people. Especially me."

"Is that why you stayed?" Lisbon asked, pulling away aging to look at him.

"I'll answer that tomorrow." Jane told her, kissing her forehead. "You should go to bed for now. I'll stay with you, if that would make you feel better."

Lisbon looked at her bedroom door and wiped at her cheeks before nodding.

"Okay then." Jane said, letting her enter her room first. They got into bed and Lisbon snuggled against Jane's chest as he held her and ran his fingers through her hair. This was not how he had expected to end the day, and he had a feeling it wasn't what Lisbon expected either. However, he wasn't disappointed. Jane waited until he was sure that Lisbon was a sleep before gently slipping out of the bed and sneaking out of her room.

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**Author's Note: So that's chapter five! I hope you all enjoyed it! There's one more chapter left everyone! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought! Please and thank you!**


	6. Confession Time

**Author's Note: Here's the final chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it, even if it ran a little later than Christmas :P. Happy New Year's! Some of you said that there was no chapter 5, but it was actually updated. I think something glitched on the site because when you pushed the arrow to go to the latest chapter it went to chapter 4. I don't know why. But chapter 5 was still there. For those of you that had trouble with that, I'm sorry. But, hopefully you figured it out.**

**Disclaimer: I don;t own The Mentalist.**

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Lisbon's eyelids fluttered open as she woke up the next morning and the first thing she saw was a pair of blue eyes looking back at her. She was startled for a moment, before she remembered why Jane was there.

"I hope I didn't scare you again." Jane smiled softly at her as he hugged her tighter.

"No." Lisbon said, cheeks becoming a deep crimson red. "It's fine."

"How are you feeling then?"

Lisbon looked up at him. "I'm fine. I...I'm surprised."

Jane's brow furrowed. "Surprised? About what?"

Lisbon glanced away and shook her head.

"Teresa." Jane sighed, kissing her forehead. "I think we're past this."

Lisbon took a deep breath. "I just-I thought I might have made last night up. That it was too good to be true."

"I'm glad you had fun. It wasn't made up. It was all 100% real. We went for that carriage ride and I went to mass with you and we ate blueberries."

Lsbon smiled.

"Come." Jane said, sitting up. "You should see what happened while you were asleep."

Lisbon frowned and sat up. "What did you do?"

"Blame, blame, blame." Jane shook his head with a teasing smile. "Why must you blame everything on me? And why must you assume it's always a bad thing?"

"Just think back to your track record and I'm sure you'll see why." Lisbon pulled the blankets off herself.

"Okay. Wait!" Jane quickly got up. "Nothing bad happened. And it wasn't me."

Lisbon looked back at him. He was smiling. Was that good or bad? She wasn't sure anymore.

Jane made his way to her bedroom door and gestured for her to follow him.

Curiously, Lisbon followed him. He placed a hand on her lower back as he guided her down the stair and she gasped, stopping in her tracks, as they entered the living room. "Wha-" She looked over at him, mouth agape and eyes wide.

"I told you Santa had a job to do."

Lisbon looked back at the Christmas tree, lit up and standing tall over some wrapped presents. "Why...?"

"Are you just going to stand there and gawk at them, or are you going to go open them?" Jane teased.

Lisbon walked over and sat down in front of the Christmas tree, reaching for a present wrapped in green paper. Jane joined her as she unwrapped the present. He watched as her smile grew. It was a tin of her favourite coffee. "Thank you, Jane." Lisbon breathed.

"_Patrick_." He corrected her gently. "And this is from Santa." He held up the little tag that said who it was to and who it was from.

Lisbon shook her head, grinning. "Whatever you say."

"I do have a Christmas present of my own to give you, though."

"Yeah? Wait." Lisbon put her coffee off to the side, looking worried. "I don't have a Christmas present for you. I'm so sorry."

Jane dismissed her apology. "It's fine. I wasn't expecting anything from you. Your company is enough."

"I'm sorry." Lisbon shook her head.

"Don't be." Jane scooched closer to her, putting his arm over her shoulders and letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "It's the only thing I wanted."

Lisbon blushed as she looked up for him. She cleared her throat and tried to change the subject a bit. "So, what did Santa not give me that you plan to?"

"It's impossible for Santa to have given this to you. And I wouldn't want him to."

"What is it?"

"An answer."

Lisbon lifted her head from his shoulder. "Answer to what?"

"To the question you asked last night."

"Okay." Lisbon tried to calm herself, but her heart was beating out of control.

"Look at me, Teresa."

It took her a moment, but she complied.

"You are the reason I stayed. And you were always the reason I came back. You always will be."

Lisbon swallowed hard.

"I haven't always treated you right and I'm terribly sorry. I've been really stupid and stubborn for a while, but not anymore. I always tried to push you away by telling myself that I was protecting you from Red John. It hurt, but I did it anyway. Now he's gone. We were all reeling from the aftermath of that and I didn't want to make things worse or more confusing and then, when everything calmed down, I just got nervous. Then Christmas started to roll around and you were grumpy and I was lonely and I couldn't handle it anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of you being in an empty house on Christmas or me being at the CBI building. I have never _truly _thanked you for everything that you've done for me. And you've done a lot. I wanted this Christmas to be special for you. I wanted to make up for everything, even though I know that I can't. But I'm trying." Jane took a moment to breathe, fighting the nervousness in his chest. "I love you, Teresa Lisbon. I don't know when it happened, but I do. I'm done fighting it. I'm done dancing around it and pretending."

Lisbon blinked and wiped at the tear that fell down her cheek. "That's why you started using my first name all the time."

Jane nodded.

"That's why you wanted to be my date to the gala."

Jane nodded.

"You really stayed because of me?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad you stayed."

"Me too." Jane smiled, reaching out to touch her cheek.

Lisbon leaned her face into his touch, closing her eyes.

Jane placed something in one of her hands and closed her fingers around it, holding her hand in both of his. "You should have this."

Lisbon looked down and opened her hand. It was Jane's wedding band. She looked back up at him, shocked.

"I wouldn't ever throw it away, but I don't know what else to do wtih it. It represents my old life. The old me. I want to move on, Teresa. I want to move on _with you_. You've given so much to me and my goals, I think I should give you a piece of me. You don't have to wear it, but you should have it."

"I don't want you to forget them-"

"I know you don't." Jane assured her. "That's not what this is about. It's about you accepting me. The way you always have. Everything I am and everything I ever was. You know me best out of everyone I've ever known. And I wouldn't have it any other way." He wiped away some more tears.

"Are you sure? About giving me this? This is huge."

"Yes, I am. I've thought about it a long time."

Lisbon still looked worried.

"Teresa-"

"Okay." Lisbon smiled at him. "If you really think I should have it, I'll accept it. I would be honored to have it." She closed her fingers around the ring again.

"Thank you." Jane cupped her face in his hands. "You have no idea what this means to me. And you have no idea what _you_ mean to me."

Lisbon glanced away, cheeks gaining a rosy hue.

Jane leaned forward then, catching her lips gently with his own.

Lisbon let out a small surprised squeak from the back of her throat, but quickly returned his gesture. "I bet this isn't how you pictured your life after you got your revenge." Lisbon murmured when they parted.

"It's not." Jane agreed. "It's so much better. Merry Christmas, Teresa." With that he pulled her closer and kissed her again.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well, that's it for this story! I hope you all enjoyed it and have a great holiday! Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! :3**


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